To Serve and Protect
by LostatDownton
Summary: In "Twilight", Kate is assigned to protect Gibbs. However, despite the mutual buildup of sexual tension, Kate isn't exactly sure if taking "to serve and protect" literally is what the Director meant when he assigned her to the detail. Kate will certainly protect Gibbs with her life... but serving him isn't what she had in mind. Kibbs, slight AU, set during Twilight, M for smut.
1. Chapter 1

"Gibbs, come on" Kate was following him, protesting.

"Kate" he turned around and glared at her "I'm goin' home. To bed. Nothing dangerous about sleeping."

She made her usual _I'm-doubting-you _face, and frowned at him "I was assigned as your protection detail, Gibbs."

"Yeah, well if Ari shoots a grenade through my window, I'll let ya know" he said sarcastically.

She was glaring at him now, following him out of the bullpen "Gibbs, I will _not _defy an order from the director. And neither will you."

He stepped into the elevator "Wanna bet, Kate?"

She immediately got into the elevator with him, as he punched the button, pissed off "I will not let you go home by yourself, Gibbs. Tony has run himself ragged on top of being sick, and Tim is exhausted too from working for two people for the last few weeks. I'm the one who stepped up to protect you, and I'll be damned if you don't let me do my job!"

"Look, Kate, what do ya want me to say?" he asked, incredulous "I'm happy you're coming home with me?" he made sure to hide any truth behind his sarcasm.

She glared at him, raising an eyebrow. She cocked a hip, and the agent he'd met on Air Force One reappeared "Are you even wearing a vest?"

"Nah. Are you?" he asked, amused now. _Balls are showing. _

"No, Gibbs, Ari is here to kill you, not me. Remember?"

"He asked how you were" Gibbs shuddered, angry at himself that he hadn't shot Ari on the spot "We have to go to Danborn Avionics tomorrow. All I want, is for you to piss off so I can get some sleep!"

"I can sleep when I'm dead, Gibbs. Isn't that your motto?" she asked.

The elevator dinged, meaning they were at the parking garage "My motto?" he asked, as she followed him. _No getting rid of her tonight. Meaning…. She IS coming home with me _he thought, before wishing he could headslap himself for even thinking it "I don't have a motto, Kate."

"Nah" came her reply from behind him "You just have a hell of a lot of rules."

"Yeah the rules are useful, Kate. You hadn't noticed?" He reached his car, before she stood next to him. He sighed, before turning around to face her "I will meet you at my house. I trust you know the way?"

"Rule eight, Gibbs" she smirked at invoking on of his own rules against him. "Never take anything for granted. Of course I know where you live"

"You been stalking me, Agent Todd?"

She turned red, "That came out wrong. I just meant, I know where you live because… I came to pick you up for work a few weeks ago, remember? No, you wouldn't remember, it was before you'd had your coffee."

"Careful, I might actually be tempted to headslap you" he warned gruffly "I'll see you shortly."

"Yes, _sir_" she muttered sarcastically, as he got in the car. He mimed headslapping, before pointing at her car.

"Go, shoo" he said.

"Gibbs, I am not a pigeon" she reprimanded, climbing in her own car, glaring at him all the while. He started the engine, and sighed once he was out of her line of vision.

_Keep it together_ he warned himself. _Or you've got a headslap coming your way. _He couldn't help it though. He found it quite amusing when Kate was pissed at him, because he could tell she wasn't really pissed. And right now, she was just worried and concerned for his safety. He was a federal agent, he should have reminded her. He could take care of himself.

_I need a rule about letting pretty younger agents into my house. _He immediately rolled his eyes, before turning on the radio. He needed some kind of distraction.

"After a dumpster exploded in downtown Washington, several of our callers have expressed a new need for starting bucket lists" the DJ started saying "This next song is for the listeners who are wondering if there is something they need to do before they die. Carpe Diem, my friends."

Gibbs knew exactly who was responsible for the dumpster blowing up. His fault. The radio started playing a song. "_I've dealt with my ghosts and faced all my demons, finally content with a past I regret…."_

He looked down at the radio, rolling his eyes. Demons. He had a lot of them. More so than Caitlin Todd ever would understand.

"_I'm moving on, at last I can see, life has been patiently waiting for me, and I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone, there comes a time in everyone's life, when all you can see are the years passing by…. And I have made up my mind that those days are gone."_

He looked in the rear view mirror, checking to make sure he wasn't being followed. And that's when he noticed exactly how gray his hair was- he'd never really noticed or minded really- and the wrinkles around his eyes were increasing. He wasn't getting any younger. And he was certain that a pretty young ex-Secret Service agent had undoubtedly noticed his shortcomings. That would be Kate, just to be totally observant. He nearly drove off the road, cursing his absentmindedness.

He pulled up to his dark house, wondering if it would look forbidding or welcoming to Kate- stupid. He was being stupid. Why was it that every single time his subordinate made a stupid remark he had the serious urge to drag her into the elevator, force her against the wall and-

He took a deep breath, throwing open the door to the car, and walking up to his front door. He went inside and started flicking on lights. It looked so empty and lonely, he wondered if she laughed to herself whenever she was here. His TV was black and white… his room was wood and navy and felt neglected. He did his ironing in the dining room. He suddenly saw his house through new eyes, and they were not promising.

"Wow" Kate said from the door.

Same script, same lines, he turned and grinned slightly "Yeah, that's what they all tell me."

"What, now it's my turn to bring in the body filled with poisonous gas?" she quipped.

"Personally, Agent Todd, I wouldn't have minded ice cream" he tried, and succeeded in getting a smile out of her.

She dropped her overnight bag on the floor and then held up a grocery bag. "Way ahead of you, Agent Gibbs."

"You're serious?" he scoffed "You brought ice cream to your protection assignment?"

She half-shrugged, and smirked, a move she'd learned from him "Consider it my apology for barging in."

"Since when do ya apologize, Kate? There's a rule against that…." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at her "What kinda ice cream are we talkin'?"

"Not pumpkin?" she suggested.

He rolled his eyes "That's funny, Kate."

"Okay, fine" she relented "I got four types of ice cream. Plus brownies, chocolate sauce and whipped cream."

"What _kinds_?" he asked impatiently. He couldn't help but notice she'd changed into a shirt and jeans. His mouth was watering and he wasn't sure whether it was from the look of her so casual (he liked Kate when she was casual) or the idea of ice cream.

"Never took you for an ice cream fanatic, Gibbs" she smirked, as she brought the grocery bag over to the table.

"Ice cream" he barked. "Now!"

She held up her hands, and pulled out mini cartons of chocolate, rocky road, cookies &amp; cream and butter pecan. He stared at them suspiciously, as though forgetting something, and then clued in. "Ya tryin' to be funny, Kate?"

"What? I told you, all out of pumpkin" she started laughing.

"Your memory is frightening" he told her, before pointing at the drawer behind him, sitting down at the table, "Spoons in there."

She grabbed them and then handed him one. He opened the rocky road, and started eating it. Kate was picking away at the chocolate with her own spoon, and he had to force himself to stare down into the ice cream, instead of looking at her sensuously licking the spoon after every bite.

She made eye contact as she reached for the chocolate sauce. But her hands were slippery from when she'd rinsed her spoon, and the _open bottle _slipped through her fingers, dropping on the table-

And squirting chocolate sauce right into Gibb's face, assaulting him with a sweet-tasting sticky wave.

He glared at her, as she stared at him in horrified silence. As he wiped most of the chocolate from his face, she finally spoke again- "Oh- oh my god, Gibbs, I'm sorry-."

He calmly picked up the chocolate sauce from the table, and held it up, defensively, as if examining the label. But he was making sure it was open, and then he turned it on her.

Her face and shirt were suddenly covered as she shrieked in surprise. She wiped her face with her shirt, and the sight of her bare, toned stomach made his stomach swoop in suddenly unparalleled excitement. He fought the feeling, as he flicked a spoonful of ice cream at her. It hit her in the forehead, and he couldn't help but start laughing to himself.

"What the hell, Gibbs? I said it was an accident!" she cried.

"Aw c'mon Agent Todd. Ain't you ever heard of an old-fashioned food fight?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

Her mouth dropped open "I must be going crazy" she proclaimed "Because Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs does not know the meaning of the word _fun_. Or _food fight_"

He walked up behind her, and put his hands on her shoulders. Before reaching down and grabbing the whipped cream from the table. He pressed the nozzle so a spurt of whipped cream was suddenly covering Kate's nose. It was hilarious… hilariously cute.

She turned around to glare at him "What do you think you're-."

Maybe it was the way she was worrying about Ari. Maybe it was something else. But Gibbs was going to shut Kate up for once. He was going to get the last word. So he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.

And _surprise surprise_, she didn't immediately pull away. In fact, she placed her hands on the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair, deepening the kiss and leaning into him. He realized exactly why she hadn't been complaining about protection duty. _She wanted this. _She tasted like chocolate, and whipped cream smeared across his face from hers. He was kissing her senseless, the smell of mint and soap filling his nose.

He pulled away, and she stared at him. He was quite certain that it was the first time he'd ever see Caitlin Todd, master of comebacks, speechless. And then she grinned, a dazzling smile slowly spreading across her face. She reached around behind her, and grabbed her spoon, flicking ice cream back at him. It splattered across his chest, and he grinned, mildly amused. He took her wrist in his hand, gently, and licked it.

"Mmmm, you taste good, Kate" he growled, meeting her eyes. She understood the message behind his smirk.

"Gibbs-," She protested with a laugh "I'm covered in ice cream"

Eyes flashing, he merely smirked and said "Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" He grabbed her around the waist, as she squealed slightly, and hoisted her onto the dining table, knocking the ice cream cartons out of the way as he did so. She stared up at him with a smirk, before grabbing his shirt and pulling him in for another kiss.

_If I'd known… _he thought to himself _I would've nearly gotten killed sooner._ But that probably wasn't a good idea.

She glared at him, "I don't know what you're playing at, but if you just licked me to make a point, then you're not proving anything"

"Really?" he ran a finger down her cheek, her eyes involuntarily closing. "Wanna test that theory, Katie?" He started to caress her back with his other hand.

"Gibbs…." was what she managed.

"I think we should continue this elsewhere…." He trailed off, raising his eyebrows suggestively. "Since I distinctly remember you expressing an interest to Abby in seein' me naked" he smirked.

She blushed "You _heard _that? Remind me to buy you a pair of squeaky shoes" she whispered the last part, as he hand reached her neck, as he forced her into another kiss.

"As long as they're all I gotta wear around you…" he sighed into her hair, which he'd been desperate to smell, to preserve its scent.

"I think we have rules against that" she breathed against him, barely audible.

"To hell with the rules" was all he managed to say.


	2. Chapter 2

He was kissing her senseless, kissing away the sticky ice cream all over face, he was inhaling her scent, trying to ignore the building arousal that was likely becoming very evident to his subordinate.

She broke away, panting slightly, "Gibbs… I think this is a bad idea."

He pulled away in shock, staring. "_What_?" he asked in horror.

"Sex on your dining table" she managed to articulate. God her eyes were begging him, but her mouth was saying something different "Don't you have a bedroom we can continue in?"

"Special Agent Todd" he said, smirking "Are ya tryin' to get me into bed?"

"Yes… no… Maybe?" she winced as she said it, surely expecting punishment from him.

Though he wouldn't mind "punishing" her. By pinning her to the bed, and having his way with her. Leaving her flushed and naked beside him. "Agent Todd…" he trailed off warningly.

She merely looked up at him, her eyes so deep he could conceivably get lost in them "I do want to sleep with you" she managed. Somehow she had managed to force the words out. And that impressed him.

"Katie, you were right before."

She bit her lip, "About?"

"You're covered in ice cream. So am I." He leaned back from where she was still half-sprawled across his dining table. Her shirt was now stained with the melting chocolate and vanilla ice cream, no doubt leaving her breasts a sticky mess- _Oh God there's a thought to keep you up at night. _Gibbs closed his eyes, inhaling sharply.

Kate noticed, of course "Gibbs are you okay?" she asked, concerned in her typical fashion.

"Yah" he said in a strangled voice. If just having her casually lying on his dining table was making him _this _hard, he would have serious problems not just tossing her over his shoulder caveman-style and carrying her to his bedroom- or worse, ripping her clothes off and nailing her right here on his dining table.

_Stop being so primitive _he scolded himself. "Kate… you can go upstairs. There's a bathroom up there, you can clean yourself off."

"Oh… okay." Was it his imagination or did she sound… disappointed? "And what'll you do, Gibbs?"

"Wait" he said calmly.

She nodded, slowly, before propelling herself off the table, nearly losing her balance. Gibbs held his arm out in case he needed to catch her, but she merely flashed him a smile, and walked towards the stairs, grabbing her bag.

He heard her moving up the stairs, and he was left behind, staring at the remains of the ice cream. He picked it all up, putting the ice cream in the freezer… wishing that he could take a cold shower. Speaking of showers, he was blindsided by a memory.

_He had showed up at the Shields' house early, when he had walked past the bathroom and heard slightly off-key singing. He didn't recognize the song but he did however recognize the voice._

_Kate Todd was singing in the shower._

_He tried the doorknob, and found it was unlocked. Though he was tempted to go in and find her- that temptation aided with the image of her naked and slick with soap- he knew that DiNozzo would be awake soon, and the last thing he would want would be DiNozzo finding him and Kate together._

_Ha! As if that would ever happen. He just kept walking, as he passed DiNozzo. _

_"Morning boss, bathroom free?"_

_"I'm pretty sure Kate's in there."_

_He saw Tony's face light up, and as he kept walking the other way, he was grateful and sure he'd made the right decision. _

_Even if his heart was telling him otherwise. _

Again, the image struck him of Kate naked and slick with soap, the water beating down on her body, leaving her body slick and her cheeks flushed.

He groaned, sitting back down. While she was upstairs washing herself off after their little food fight, he was downstairs nursing an erection that would not be going away anytime soon.

And then he decided _to hell with it. _If Ari had plans to kill him, then he was at least going to go out without any regrets concerning Special Agent Caitlin Todd.

He was sick of lying to himself.

In lieu of straight asking her on a date, he had hired her to be his subordinate- which in hindsight was a really idiotic idea. He should have just asked her on a date- why not admit it, he liked her ballsy way of dealing with him and DiNozzo.

He had liked that about her ever since her comment about earning her jockstrap. Sure, she had balls. But she also had a heart- it didn't take long for him to realize that. She was a skilled younger agent, and why not admit it now, he was incredibly attracted to her.

Her skills had led to their ill-fated trip to the _Philadelphia. _That hadn't been a bad idea either, minus the poisoned corpse on board.

Yeah, that wasn't the greatest.

He was sure he could go upstairs. And grow a pair in order to tell her. Whatever the consequences may be. He stood, the thought of spilling what was on his mind to his younger subordinate making him feel as though he was on fire.

He took the stairs two at a time, to find his bedroom door open. She was standing there, in different clothes… the same jeans, but a casual button-down instead of her t-shirt. She clearly wasn't a fan of dressing casually, but he wasn't sure why. He was a little curious, he had to admit.

She wasn't facing him, running her fingers through her hair- which wasn't wet, he noticed- and humming absentmindedly, causing him to grin to himself.

He liked this scatterbrained, not-in-control Caitlin Todd. It beat the straight-laced, hardworking special agent that sat in the desk next to his. "Are you going to say something, Gibbs?" she asked, turning around.

His mouth dropped open, and he fought to find the words. "You look nice" was all he managed.

She beamed at the unexpected compliment, and merely dropped her hands to her side. She bit her lip, nervously. "So…?" she asked.

He was feeling as jittery as if he'd had twenty cups of coffee- a little more than his usual quota. He merely smirked. "So…" he mimicked her "I let you into my bedroom for a reason, Agent Todd."

"And that reason would be?" she snarked back.

He crossed the room in two strides, so he was looking down at her, sure that a predatory look was spreading over his features. She stared up at him, her eyes widening, as he grinned and merely said:

"So I can see your tattoo, Agent Todd. I gotta inspect somethin', don't I?"

She grinned, the grin lighting up every feature. "Oh you're not going to see my tat, Gibbs."

He leaned down, growling "Wanna bet, Katie?" before cupping her face in his hands, and pulling her into yet another mind-blowing kiss. She enthusiastically responded, once again leaving no doubt in his mind that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

He soon moved his hands away, as they broke their kiss, reluctantly surfacing for air.

She looked up at him, and said. "Something tells me this is going to end with one of us naked."

"How about both of us?" he asked, giving in to the urge and throwing her over his shoulder, her shrieking and laughing as he did so. Sure, his neighbors would hate him, but so what? Damn it all to hell, he wanted her and he was going to finally have her.

"Bastard!" she cried, as he dumped her rather unceremoniously on his bed. But she was laughing as she said it, a deep belly laugh that made him marvel at the creature before him. He had never see her laugh like that. He stood over her, wondering exactly how it would go down.

She sat up, and stared at him, her gaze questioning. He couldn't remember the last time he'd brought a woman he cared about this much into his bedroom, and didn't care.

No one could quite live up to Kate Todd.

He stood at the edge of the bed, and raised an eyebrow at her.

She stood back up. "Nice try, Gibbs. Trying to get me into bed."

"What did ya think I was tryin to do, Kate?" he asked, amused. He moved closer. She reached up and grabbed the back of his head, pulling him in for another kiss.

He moved his hands to the hem of her shirt, and he didn't even bother trying to elicit a response. He started unbuttoning her shirt, feeling the warm flesh beneath, as each button yielded to his fingers. When he'd reached the last button, he gently pushed the material away from her shoulders, and it dropped to the floor.

The last thing he'd wanted was for there to be a trail of clothing from the door to the bed, and it wasn't looking likely, thank God. She groaned slightly into his mouth, her lips moving against his.

Not like he'd be complaining. He broke away in order to look at her. A skimpy black lace bra that he was sure he hadn't noticed before, but it certainly didn't leave much to the imagination, which he was grateful for. He ran his fingers through her hair, staring at her, feeling the silky strands against his fingers, and grinning both to himself and at her, knowing that this… this was a gift.

And he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take his time unwrapping said gift.

Easier than it looked, considering that he was uncomfortably straining against his boxers. He replaced his fingers brushing down her neck with his lips, biting at her earlobe playfully, before dropping kisses down her neck. She moaned slightly, but mercifully said nothing. He smiled against the soft skin of her neck, before nipping it.

She gasped slightly, pulling away a bit, so he could notice the mark he happened to be leaving. Already breaking out, and that mildly impressed him. She looked up at him with what he could only guess as adoration.

She was in love with him, and it had taken several near-death experiences for the two of them to realize it.

He reached around behind her, kissing her shoulder, as he unfastened her bra, and pulled the straps down her arms. He allowed his fingers to brush over her nipples, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

He felt his cock twitch at the sound of her sigh. At the feeling of her nipples, which had hardened beneath his fingertips.

He moved away, shuddering as he looked at her generous breasts, released from their lace prison. He never knew exactly how much he liked the color black until he saw it on Kate. He was still fully clothed, and regretting it.

He kissed and sucked at her collarbone, hearing her gasp, as he worked his fingers at the zipper to her jeans. He forced them down to find- matching lace panties.

He looked up at her and grinned "A matching set? Did you have something planned, Agent Todd?"

"Guhhh..." was all she managed. She was clearly having trouble forming coherent words.

He chuckled, running his finger down her hip. She moved away for a second, stepping out of her jeans. Wearing only panties, she was blushing slightly. And he couldn't blame her.

She was so goddamn beautiful and he couldn't help himself. He stepped closer, circling her nipple with his finger, before tugging on it slightly, causing her to gasp once more.

"No fair…" she murmured breathlessly.

"So?" he chuckled as he asked. Then he leaned down, kissing her breasts, moving further down, kissing along her hips until he reached his destination.

The waist of her panties, which he hooked a finger under, tempted to

He wanted to tug them down her long, neverending legs, and allow them to drop on the floor. But he didn't. He was sure he was staring. At her. Breasts, face, hair, legs… all of her was so beautiful.

_Beautiful _echoed the voice in the back of his brain, the part that was still somewhat functioning. She looked at him, her head titled slightly, eyes half-shut. "What are you waiting for, Gibbs?" she murmured.

That was all the invitation he needed. He slid his hand under the sheer material, touching the downy curls, which he suspected (he would investigate later) were dark brown. He ran his finger the length of her, and was surprised at what he found.

"God Katie… you're so wet" he whispered, looking up at her. She merely smiled, a dazed smile that betrayed her position. He slid his finger inside of her teasingly, and heard her bite back a moan. He smiled to himself, pulling it out, and sliding it over her clit, circling it, causing her to pant slightly. He removed his hand, pulling it out from her panties, and gently put his hands on her hips, forcing her backwards onto the bed. The dim lamplight cast shadows across her body… an entire body he couldn't wait to explore.

"You… don't… stop…." She hissed.

He crawled on top of her, and lightly flicked his tongue over his nipple. Her resulting gasp was encouraging. He tugged on it with his teeth, feeling her arching against him, her breathing growing quick. He hoped she was enjoying herself, because this was only the beginning of what he had planned for her. He wanted to see her fall apart in front of him. Fall apart all _over _him.

He moved to her other breast, and she moaned slightly, winding her hands in his hair. She tugged on it slightly, whispering "Bah….stard."

He chuckled to himself. _She could call you worse _he reminded himself, before moving down, tugging her panties down her legs, and letting them drop off the bed and onto the floor. His cock twitched again, at the feeling of her wet heat beneath his fingers.

He was by no means an expert on women, nor an expert on Kate Todd. But he wanted to be, _God, _he wanted to be. He nudged her thighs apart, as she looked at him questioningly. He merely grinned, and moved closer, running his tongue along the length of her, circling her clit, as she gasped in pleasure, groaning his name "Giiiiibbbbbssss" she whined.

He licked around her clit once more, circling it, as she keened and squirmed beneath his touch. At the same time, he cocked his finger inside of her, thrusting it rapidly.

And suddenly her thighs were pressing on either side of his head, as she came, shuddering, crying out in pleasure, all the weight of her body suddenly pressing on Gibbs' head, but he didn't mind. The sounds of pleasure and passion were ones he thought he'd never hear from Caitlin Todd's mouth.

He'd always wondered what she'd sound like when she came.

The vise-like grip her thighs had on his head loosened, and he straightened. She was lying there, mildly dazed, and she grinned up at him. "To think…." She said, but didn't finish the sentence.

He was still standing there, as she forced herself to sit up. Her cheeks were flushed in pleasure, and he was happy to see her like that. "No… no more… want you…" she panted, trying to form coherent thoughts.

He raised an eyebrow. "Spit it out, Katie, I don't have all night."

She lunged for him, grabbing his shirt, so he was inches away from her face. "You… naked…_now._" The urgency in her voice was undeniable. But he was so uncomfortable anyway that he would welcome such a release. She pulled his shirt over his head, and threw it across the room. There was focus, as well as fire, in her eyes, and he wondered how long she'd wanted to strip him. Immediately, her hands were fumbling with his belt, she growled to herself, as she unbuckled his belt, and unzipped his pants, her fingers accidentally brushing against his length.

He said nothing, growling impatiently. He was wearing boxers, but he would probably come undone the second he entered her.

There was a thought to keep him going. He allowed his pants to drop. And then she was reaching eagerly for his boxers, sliding them down, as his cock (embarrassingly enough) popped free. He groaned at the relief of no longer being constrained. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and Kate, not one to waste her time, climbed onto his lap.

"Kate" he managed, as she ran her fingers down his length, feeling him twitch "warn you…"

"What?" she asked, her breath warm on his face.

"Not a bottom…" he grinned, though it was impossible not to nearly fall apart at the feeling of her fingers brushing against him.

"Huh?" she asked.

He flipped her, so he was on top of her. "Not… a… bottom…" he managed again.

She started laughing as she understood what he'd meant. But she had released him… he circled his finger around her clit again, asking "What do you want, Kate… Hmmmm?"

"You…" she sighed. "Inside me…" a little more urgently, _"Now._" She reached for him, but he snagged her hand, nudging her thighs apart yet again, to reveal the velvety wet heat between her legs. He guided himself into her, feeling her tense slightly, as he slid his cock inside.

She was hot and wet around him, and he was feeling quite bold. "Now…" he managed. "Where were we?"

"Here" she gasped, arching against him.

He took that as a hint, pulling her into a brutal, savage kiss as he thrust into her, rolling his hips against hers each time, at the same time running his fingers over her clit, feeling her, _really _feeling her. He thrust again, feeling himself coming closer.

She gasped "m-more… p-please…."

He thrust again, circling her clit with his finger, before realizing he was about to come undone. "Kaaate." He groaned into her mouth before thrusting once again, as she cried out, clenching around him.

That was all the urge he needed. He thrust one final time, coming apart, as the two of them clutched each other, riding out their orgasm together, her whimpering into his shoulder, and he gently pulled out of her.

She sighed a little, purring like a contented cat. He was still on top of her, but he was content with not moving for now.

He had one word for what just happened. "Wow…" he breathed.

"That's… what they all tell me." Kate replied softly, pulling him into another kiss.

He was still slightly in shock.

He'd wanted to do that since Air Force One… and it was just as good as he'd hoped.

Wow indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

_She was standing in Gibbs' kitchen, the ice cream still spread across it. "Someone should really put these in the freezer" she muttered, walking towards them. She put the ice cream away, looking around the sunny kitchen. Everything was right, and she would head back upstairs to-_

_And then she turned around to see Gibbs sitting on the couch, his head lolling, blood drenching his front. His throat had been cut._

_Her own throat closed up in horror as she stared at him. "No…." she whispered, starting to walk towards him. But someone touched her shoulder, and she whipped around._

_Ari. "Miss me?" he asked softly._

She jolted awake "Gibbs!" she muttered, looking around, before realizing:

She was still naked, and lying next to Gibbs. Who was half-asleep. "Kate?" he asked.

"Yeah" she rubbed her shoulder, trying to rid the feeling of Ari's hand there.

He sat up, looking at her, concerned "Ya cried out, Kate. You okay?"

She shivered, looking around. There was sunlight pouring in, and she could see their respective clothes scattered on the floor. "Yeah, Gibbs, I'm fine."

"No, you're not" he said, taking her face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes "What's wrong?"

"It was just a nightmare, Gibbs" she pulled the sheets up so she was covering herself, lying back down. But she rolled over so she was facing him.

His phone buzzed, and he glanced at it "Toss me my phone?" he asked.

She did, and he answered. "Gibbs. Yeah, DiNozzo what?"

Kate looked up, alarmed.

"No, we're going to check out Danborne Avionics today. Yeah, Kate and I'll be there in about an hour. She's still asleep. No, DiNozzo, and if I hear that sentence again, I will headslap you so hard, they'll be able to feel it ten generations from now!" He hung up. He grinned at her. "So…" he said, leaning in and kissing her "Morning."

"Good morning" she whispered as she broke away. Gibbs grinned, looking her over, his erection having sprung back to life. He clearly wasn't satiated either "We should get ready"

"Should…" he shrugged "Or we could do something else entirely."

"Gibbs" she narrowed her eyes at him "We have to work."

"I'm aware of that. But I'm the boss, and I gave us an hour." He crawled on top of her, smirking.

She got a sparkle in her eyes that usually meant something dangerous was going to happen. Still half-entangled in the sheets, she flipped him, so she was straddling him. She grinned, sitting on top of him. "I like this…."

"I said…" he said, his eyes involuntarily closing, "that I'm not a bottom."

"And I'm not a good listener. I have balls, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Noticed" he chuckled.

"Did you….?" She rolled her hips against his erection, causing his eyes to roll back in his head.

"Agent Todd…" he managed "I think you need to be punished."

"_Punish _me" she whispered, trying to block out her nightmare, leaning down and kissing him as she lowered herself onto him, desperate to feel him inside her again.

XXXXXXXX

After he showered, Gibbs headed downstairs. Kate was standing there in one of his USMC shirts and nothing else, standing at his stove, making breakfast.

He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He buried his nose in her hair, as she turned to smile at him. He kissed her lightly on the shoulder, and she shuddered instinctively. His skin was bare, as he wasn't wearing a shirt, and as he kissed up his neck, she tried to swat him away, before turning around, and putting her hands on her hips.

"For being the boss, you're in no hurry, Gibbs."

"Why would I be, when I've got this?" he asked, gesturing at her.

She beamed at the slightly veiled compliment. "Oh Gibbs…" she sighed.

"I smell…" he sniffed the air "Bacon?"

"What, did you think I couldn't cook?" she asked, affronted.

"I'll add it to your extensive list of talents" he replied, with a smile. He grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

"Thank you" Kate was enjoying this domestic scene, and could almost forget that they had to be at work soon. Or risk having Tony or McGee come and find them… acting domestic and loving.

It would take their combined willpower not to run to the elevator for a quickie during the day anyway. All of their combined willpower. Possibly even more willpower than Kate possessed. _You've waited this long _she reminded herself.

"Mmmmm and Katie?"

She turned "What?"

"That tat is really nice" he smirked as he said it. From his current seat, if he looked the right way, he could see her ass peeking out from under her shirt. The tat was where Tony had said it was.

Gibbs had known what it was since Gitmo, he had just enjoyed feigning idiocy. A camouflage heart with his initials hidden in the camouflage, he had certainly enjoyed examining every inch of it last night.

She sighed, and said "If you're done blatantly staring at my ass, breakfast is almost done."

"Kate, you gotta nice ass" He grinned as he said it "and besides, nothing I haven't seen before."

As she set down the plate, she gave him a whack to the back of the head. Something she never would've attempted before the events of the previous night. She was a little more daring now.

And he couldn't deny he liked it.

Her phone, sitting on the counter buzzed, and she sighed, padding over to it barefoot. She answered it. "Hell, DiNozzo, did you want something?" she asked, impatiently when Tony gave an impatient hello.

"I'm wondering where you and Gibbs are" he replied tersely "We do have work to do, you know."

"I know, Tony."

"What, you too busy doing something else?" Tony asked, amused.

"Tony, if you were here I'd throw that snake we found yesterday at you. Ass."

"Ooh" Tony wasn't impressed. "Harsh. But yes, I do have a nice butt, if I do say so myself."

"Shut up, DiNozzo. We'll be there soon."

"Soon as in your driving, or Gibbs' driving, because you drive like a little old lady!" he chuckled as he said it.

"DiNozzo, if you value your balls I'd suggest you hang up. And learn some patience, damn it!" She hung up, sighing, her head tilted back.

She moved back towards the table.

"So who do ya bet is gonna call next?" Gibbs asked, amused.

Kate just rolled her eyes "Next it'll be Fornell, only he won't call! He'll just show up!"

He laughed at that "Not if he knows what's good for him, Katie."

Kate made a face "I still haven't decided if I love or hate you calling me that."

He merely smiled, and stroked his hand down her face. The kind gesture she was unaccustomed to from Gibbs took her breath away. Not that it was hard, around him. "You should get dressed" he said softly.

"You're one to talk" she retorted, as he stood up, kissing her on the nose. She was stunned as much by the fact that they had had awesome, mind-blowing sex last night, as she was by his little gestures.

Still, she fought the urge to tell him _I love you. _It would come, and besides he didn't need to know. It wasn't necessary. And she figured that the looks he'd given her were enough of a reply to satisfy her cravings for his love ten times over.

She walked upstairs, picking her clothes up off the floor, and stuffing them in her overnight bag. Out of her overnight bag, she pulled a pink shirt that she'd brought, before grabbing her pants and bra off the floor, and in one fluid motion, pulled Gibbs' shirt over her head, dropping it on the bed, standing before him, naked as a newborn.

He grinned at the sight, leaning against the doorframe "So beautiful" he murmured.

She whipped around, clearly not having realized that he was there. She blushed a bit, before dressing. Slowly. As though she knew how much she was affecting him.

If he wasn't careful, he'd soon be sporting a new erection, and he couldn't let that happen. He merely sighed, hoping that the collar of Kate's jacket would cover up the hickeys she was sporting. He was chuckling to himself at the thought of DiNozzo seeing them.

Of course then that would lead to many questions, and more scuttlebutt for the agency. He rolled his eyes at the thought. _No thank you _he thought _don't need that. _

Then again, as Kate looked up at him, he was reminded that she didn't think of him as just Gibbs, her grumpy boss.

She saw past the "Leroy Jethro Second-B-for-bastard Gibbs" act.

She saw Jethro. The Jethro he'd only revealed to Abs, to Shannon and Kelly. Not the Gibbs that Fornell, and McGee and Tony, and Morrow knew.

But once you start letting down walls, you become more vulnerable.

As she walked past, to head downstairs, now fully dressed, he slapped her ass playfully. She turned around, alarmed, before smirking, and pulling him into a kiss "You'll be lucky.." she whispered "If I let you walk around all day without a kiss."

"I'd call that more unlucky than lucky" he said, smirking.

She grinned back, but said nothing else. He took his time getting dressed, not wanting to venture out into the big wide world beyond his little house. Beyond the protective bubble of his bedroom, beyond the magic spell of last night. Once he was dressed, he stood in the middle of his mostly-lonely bedroom, closing his eyes, and inhaling the scents that filled his nose.

Coffee and sawdust… that was him.

The smell of a room not often occupied.

Roses and something vaguely fruity… _Kate. _

And a musky scent, that he was sure was the smell of their lovemaking.

All combined in one room, he marveled. He heard the door open downstairs, and he grabbed his cell phone and gun off the desk, before heading downstairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Kate held out her hand "Shall we?" she asked.

Without another word, he took it.

XXXXXXXX

In the bullpen, Kate followed him to his desk, and said "Gibbs, if you're coming with us to Danborne, then you're wearing a vest." She held it out.

Tony and McGee were watching, mildly interested. Kate's high collar was making her look more conservative than usual, but oh it was so _so _far from the truth, but she was stubborn, and she was pouting.

_Damn it, _he didn't have the energy to turn down his new lover. He sighed and grinned "I can live with that."

"Yeah, Gibbs, that's the idea" she replied, snarkily.

He grinned, and was sure he saw her cheeks colour a little bit. "Kate, don't you have work to do?" he asked, standing over her. She refused to submit, just stalked back to her desk.

Gibbs put on the vest, and wished that she was helping him, her fingers brushing against the material- against his chest-

He groaned, sitting back down. The last thing he'd want was to be in the middle of an investigation and end up sporting a fierce erection in front of his team. _That _made him straighten up.

"Let's go." He grabbed his coffee, and the rest of them were forced to follow. He could feel Kate practically on his heels, DiNozzo and McGee behind her.

As they stood in the elevator, Kate had a fleeting idea of what it would be like if she kissed Gibbs right now in front of the other two.

Their eyes met, and he grinned, thinking the exact same thing.

Their secret smile said what words couldn't.


	4. Chapter 4

"…Lieutenant Westfall was our military liaison for Danborne's modular UAV project. And like I told the FBI, I doubt his murder had anything to do with it." Eberlee was not pleased with the questions, and seemed slightly nervous.

"Modular UAV?" McGee asked. Kate shared his confusion, as did Gibbs and DiNozzo.

"It's an unmanned aerial vehicle we're developing with the Navy" he explained "for different missions in the field."

"What kind of missions?"

"Reconnaissance… nuclear and biological agent testing…" Kate swore she could see Tony shudder at the words _biological agent, _clearly remembering his bout with y. pestis. "Uh… ground attack."

"So it can be used as a weapon?" she asked, trying to pay close attention to what Eberlee was saying.

"Someday" he clarified. "it's only a prototype. Oh, and before you ask, we changed all our security codes, and removed Westfall's from the system last night." He slid his key, and the doors opened. They followed him into a busy hangar, where workers moved around like bees, desperately trying to get work done.

"Any chance one of your _modular UAVs _is missing?" Tony asked, looking around.

Kate was not that impressed with what she saw. Despite it being busy, it was a moderately empty hangar.

"Nope" Eberlee was surprisingly cheerful "Only have one and that's her in the hangar" He pointed over to a white, shiny looking machine that somewhat resembled a plane.

They started looking at miniature versions, as Eberlee explained they used them in certain "wind tunnel tests" but Kate was starting to zone out. Besides, something infinitely more interesting caught her eye. Gibbs had walked over, and was uncovering something. And his ass, well-defined in the pants he was wearing, was somewhat distracting her.

"Any of your security systems rely on fingerprint or palm scanning technology, Mr. Eberlee?" she tried to regain her focus, but it wasn't easy, with Gibbs distracting her so.

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Lieutenant Westfall was…. missing his hands" McGee explained, trying to remain elusive.

"Someone hacked 'em off" Tony said bluntly. He was no longer as fascinated with the cameras, but was raptly paying attention.

"Uhhh" he was uncomfortable. "The FBI didn't mention that."

"But we did, what's the answer?" Tony asked.

"Our radio flight control systems use biometrics" he said at last. "But only pilots entered into the system can fly them."

"Like Westfall?" Kate asked, catching on.

"Yeah, but we only have one flyable UAV and that's it" He nodded again towards the hangar.

Gibbs finally spoke up about what he was uncovering off to the side "What about these?" he asked.

"Those are target drones. Danborne Avionics got its start making them in the nineteen-seventies. They're relics, they're… they're not operational."

"Looks like one's missing" Gibbs noted.

"It was probably moved" Eberlee said, looking around desperately as though expecting it to pop out from around a corner.

"Where?"

"We use them for spare parts" he was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Mmm-hmm" Gibbs wasn't buying it. Kate could tell.

"It's not possible" Eberlee threw out. "I mean, you need a team of engineers to get one of these heaps in flying shape. Not to mention, you'd need a…." he trailed off, realizing. "radio flight control."

"And I'll be Lieutenant Westfall's is missing." Gibbs said, and that.. was the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

She and Gibbs exchanged a look, and she was wondering…

_What would Ari want with a target drone?_

XXXXXX

In the car, on the way back to the Yard, Gibbs graciously (though she knew the real reason) allowed Kate to sit shotgun, while Tony and McGee were forced to share the backseat. After ten minutes of bickering between the two of them, Gibbs said "Listen, you two, if I have to hear any more of this then I'm going to headslap you both into next century!"

That shut them up pretty quickly, no surprise there.

Kate sighed, leaning against the seat. Her jacket was a little warm for May, but if she let Tony or McGee see the hickeys on her neck, she'd never hear the end of it. The fact that once she'd reached the Yard earlier that morning, Tony had bugged her non-stop about staying at Gibbs' house. She was only grateful he didn't know the truth. Because then he'd never shut up. _Ever._

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gibbs smirk at her, but she didn't rise to the bait, even if she blushed slightly as the sight of that smirk. The smirk that took her breath away, and did wicked things to her.

And then she saw Tony lean forward, heard him inhale. "Hey Kate…?" he asked.

"What, DiNozzo?" she asked, knowing it wasn't going to be anything good.

"You smell nice… like…" he inhaled again, and she resisted the urge to punch him in the face "Ice cream. Why do you smell like ice cream?"

She was absolutely certain she turned bright red. She cleared her throat, and her eyes met Gibbs' before she turned to look at Tony "It's a new perfume I'm trying out. You like it?"

"I do" Tony grinned "Although this is the first time you've worn it, I believe"

"Thanks, I'm glad you noticed" she replied sarcastically.

He inhaled again, and she almost smacked him. Gibbs chuckled from beside her "DiNozzo, I'd suggest you shut up" he said calmly, before speeding up. Kate rolled her eyes, knowing that Gibbs' driving would one day be the death of her.

Although Gibbs' smile was already killing her every time she looked over at him. He was so damn handsome, that she Caitlin Todd could not resist his pull. It was like she gravitated towards him every time. Though the fleeting thought in the elevator had been brief, she knew it was a thought that would float through her Gibbs-soaked brain many times throughout the day.

She was caught in his gravity already.

XXXXXX

"According to these schematics, the drone's pretty outdated from a tech perspective, Gibbs" Gibbs and Kate were in Abby's lab, while Tony and McGee were working upstairs. Abby was explaining to them about the drone.

"So is a hand grenade" Gibbs pointed out.

"Excellent point. The Danborne TX Bravo is basically a jet-propelled RC plane, meaning it's manually controlled by a radio transmitter." Kate looked over at her. While she often had a blank face around McGee's "techno-babble", this she understood.

"The transmitter they stole was from a modern UAV. They might not be able to fly it" she stated.

"True, true" Abby conceded "But Danborne's flight codes are based on the original software, so a few tweaks-" she was cut off by Gibbs.

"What's the range?"

"Forty miles, unless they load it down with explosives."

"Oh they will" Gibbs sighed.

"Payload would have to be pretty small, Gibbs, twenty-five pounds or less if they want to get it off the ground. It's not a lot of bang for your buck."

"It is if you're going after a soft target, Abs" he said grimly.

"A soft target?" Kate could tell Abby was confused.

"People" Kate said softly. She and Gibbs exchanged a look of mutual understanding._ This is very bad._

"Oh" Abby's reply said it all.

"Is there a way to stop it if it's launched?" Gibbs asked, trying to refocus the conversation.

"It wouldn't be hard to destabilize the system" she started "We have the operation frequencies, another controller could probably jam it."

"Get me another controller" Gibbs said, starting to head out of the lab.

"But Gibbs, there's a catch!" Abby called, making him stop cold in his tracks. He turned back around and looked at her.

"You'd have to be within a forty-mile radius to jam it" she explained.

Gibbs nodded, and headed out. Kate was about to follow, when Abby said softly "Hey."

Kate turned, and looked quizzically at Abby.

"I had a weird dream about Tony last night" Abby said, looking troubled.

Kate was concerned. _Oh not again _she thought. "Ew, not the one where the two of you were at the zoo and he-."

"Oh, no, no" Abby said hastily, and Kate was incrementally relieved "He's fully clothed in this one. But he had… blood all over his face… I woke up crying, Kate, I never cry, never ever _ever._"

Kate was in a hurry, and she could hear the elevator ding from outside. But she could see how worried and troubled Abby was "Hey" she said, touching Abby's arm, "it was just a bête noire. Gotta go" She quickly ran out, calling "Hold the elevator!"

Just her luck, when the doors opened, who should be staring back, but Gibbs? He smirked when he saw her, until he saw the troubled look on his face.

She stepped into the elevator, and the doors close. They stood there in silence, as though separated by a gulf, similar to the one they had been separated by… before last night.

He finally grunted in annoyance, and stepped forward, flicking the switch to shut down the elevator. He turned his steely gaze on her. A quick thrill ran through her that she might get to live her "elevator quickie" fantasy, but her thoughts were instantly quelled, by the concerned look on Gibbs' face.

"What did Abby want?" he asked gently.

"She was telling me about a nightmare she had" she didn't look at him, and found sudden interest in the floor of the elevator.

"What was it about?" he asked, worried now. She could hear it in his voice.

"She said…" Kate closed her eyes, thinking on what Abby had said "…that she had a dream about Tony, and he had blood on his face."

"Oh." Gibbs said, sounding somewhat puzzled.

"Gibbs, she said she woke up crying" Kate opened her eyes again, looking up at him. His eyes were clouded with worry "she said she-."

"Never cries" he finished, now looking increasingly concerned.

"She's not the only one having nightmares, Gibbs" Kate said, before realizing what she'd said. She instantly wished she hadn't said anything. Gibbs looked so concerned, that his sad puppy-dog face was heart-melting.

"This morning…" Comprehension dawned on his face "That's right. You were having a nightmare."

"Yep" she said quietly.

"What was it about, Katie?" he asked, the soft tones gently probing her.

"You" she swallowed "Gibbs… I don't…"

"Katie" he touched her face with his hand "What was it?"

"I turned around and your throat was slit" she wasn't meeting his eyes "You were dead. Then someone touched my shoulder, and when I turned around…" she shuddered.

"Ari?" he asked. The name was poison sliding off his tongue, and she knew he didn't mean to hurt her. But reality was knocking on the edges of their safety bubble. Calling at the doors, and creeping in the cracks.

"Yes" she felt tears welling up in her eyes, but said nothing about them. Once they started to fall, she would not be consoled.

"Katie…" He drew her into his arms, without another word. She tried to relax, she felt so tense and scared it was hard.

"Gibbs, I'm scared for you" she whispered into his chest. She wasn't even sure he heard.

"I've got a vest, remember?"

"Why else would Abby and I be having dreams about you dying otherwise?" Kate muttered.

"Katie, Katie, Katie" he sighed, "Don't be scared. I'll be fine. You made me wear a vest, remember?" He kissed her forehead, and pulled away slightly, allowing her to look up at him. His eyes were filled with worry and another emotion… adoration maybe "I can take care of myself. I'm more worried… about you."

"Me?" she asked.

"Do you have a vest?" he asked softly.

"I gave you mine" she admitted quietly. He leaned down, brushing his lips against her forehead, before leaning in to whisper in her ear.

"I know this wasn't what you were hoping for when you stepped into the elevator"

She turned red at the thought, but merely smiled coyly up at him. He smirked at her, a trademark look, although one that she loved.

"You gotta stop smiling at me like that" he groaned "Too many times today-."

And there went the serious moment. But she was glad that she and Gibbs could still joke around in light of recent events. She merely chuckled and said nothing, except "You're lucky I didn't kiss you in front of them."

He rolled his eyes "You, Caitlin Todd, will be the death of me."

"No, Gibbs, you'll be the death of me" she teased in reply. He leaned down and kissed her, slowly and passionately, sending sparks flying.

He reached over behind her, flicking the switch back on. The elevator dinged a few moments later, and they walked out into the squad room, both rearranging their faces into something resembling serious.

Tony and McGee were watching the surveillance tapes, and muttering, before Gibbs called out "Whaddaya got?"

"Shot of our drone thieves from Danborne's security footage from two nights ago."

"The day the Lieutenants were murdered" McGee supplemented.

"Can you ID them?" Gibbs asked, impatiently, his eyes darting to the screen. Kate had hers glued to the screen, her heart pounding in dreaded anticipation. She knew what was coming. She could feel it. She could also almost taste her fear, as palpable and real as it was.

"Well, they're both wearing ski masks, but check this out." Tony clicked, and the image froze "Maybe I'm paranoid but does that guy look familiar?"

Kate's heart dropped to her shoes. _The thief is clutching his shoulder. The same shoulder Gibbs put a bullet through. _

_Ari._

Gibbs had frozen, but then he sprung to life "You're not paranoid" he said quietly "that bastard's Ari."

"He's not looking for an Al-Qaeda cell" Tony said.

"_Hell no_, he's running it!" Gibbs snapped "Get Fornell in here."

"How much should I tell him?" Tony asked.

"Tell him he's about to make the second biggest mistake of his life!" Gibbs yelled over his shoulder, as he walked away, heading for the stairs leading to MTAC.

Kate meanwhile at last had the proof that her worst nightmare was indeed back. Until now, she'd been able to pretend it wasn't true, pretend that she was still safe.

But no.

She wasn't, and Ari was back. She headed upstairs, as Tony and McGee exchanged worried looks. _She had to talk to Gibbs._

She caught up to him in MTAC, and sat next to him. He had his head half-buried in his hands. When she had seen tha tit was Ari, she had gone weak at the knees.

But sitting next to Gibbs, to _her _Gibbs, renewed her strength. "Kate…" he sighed "We have to get that bastard."

"I know" she offered, knowing she wasn't being helpful. She longed to find a way to reassure him, but she didn't have a way, at least not without tipping off all the techs in MTAC as well. Gibbs stood up, his energy renewed and stormed out. She sighed, following in his over-energized footsteps.

XXXXXX

Fornell and Gibbs walked into MTAC, Kate and Tony following, Kate wishing they could just get it all over with, and she and Gibbs could go home- anywhere where he was she considered a home- and just call it quits. Permanently call it quits.

"My second biggest mistake, Jethro? That's very dramatic." He paused, intrigued "What was the first?"

Tony and Kate settled into seats, as Gibbs looked over at Fornell, annoyed "When you married my second wife."

Kate and Tony exchanged a shocked look. She still didn't understand their relationship, but she understood it a little better. Regardless of how much she didn't like hearing about Gibbs' ex-wives.

"You could've warned me…" Fornell said.

"I did!" Gibbs retorted.

Fornell turned to Kate and Tony "In my own defense, I thought he was exaggerating. So what?" he asked, turning back to Gibbs.

"Where's Ari?" Gibbs' voice had gone deathly quiet. He was angry, sure, angry as hell, but Kate knew he was also worried. Not for his sake of course, he never was. But for Kate's and that scared her.

"What part of _sit this out _don't you get?" Fornell asked, rolling his eyes.

"The part where he steals a Navy UAV and kills a whole bunch of people with it!"

"My people checked out Danborne Avionics, their only UAV is accounted for" Fornell said, clearly in denial.

"He stole a target drone, Fornell!" Gibbs replied, exasperated, before turning to the techs "Pull it up." The onscreen 3D-model flashed before their eyes. "Pack the nose of that with Semtac and he's got a poor man's cruise missile!"

"Guess your boys missed it" Tony said coolly.

"Ari's playing you." Gibbs said, angry "He's no double agent, he never has been! Where is he?"

Fornell thought it over, then gave in. "All we've got is an encrypted spook cell phone number."

"Call it!" Gibbs demanded.

"You can't trace it from here, Gibbs! You need a high level NSA intercept-."

"Patch us through" Gibbs ordered a tech. Kate watched in fascination.

"We're talking dedicated satellite time" Fornell tried.

A military man appeared on the screen, and said "I've got two NSA satellites in range for the next five minutes, gunny. What's the number?"

"Are you sure about this?" Fornell asked nervously.

"As sure as when I told you she'd clean out your bank account when she left."

Fornell sighed, and gave up the card with the number on it. Gibbs brought it over to the tech, who dialed.

"Patching it through now… Sure he's gonna answer?"

Kate already knew the answer to that question. But she said nothing, watching the events unfolding in front of her.

"Put my name on his caller ID, he'll answer" Gibbs said, more calm now.

It rang, before it connected "Special Agent Gibbs, now how did you get this number?"

Kate shivered at a voice she recognized all too well. She knew that oily voice, it still haunted her nightmares.

"I pulled some strings."

"Yes, your friend Fornell, I imagine, he's there with you."

"Nope, nope, I've been thrown off the case." Kate wondered exactly what Gibbs was playing at that with this.

"It's for the best" _As if. _"I really wasn't looking forward to killing you."

"Wish I could say the same, Ari." And Kate knew that Gibbs meant what he was saying. One hundred percent. "I've resigned from NCIS."

Kate's heart fluttered in her chest, even though she knew it was a ruse.

"I hope it wasn't something I said" Ari said calmly.

"Next time we meet, Ari… will be the last time." He meant every word, Kate knew it. "There won't be anybody to stop me."

"Gibbs, I'm honored, I had no idea you'd make so much of a-." Gibbs looked over at the NSA tech, who cut the call, and had traced it.

"He's in a cell phone grid three miles out of Norfolk. Newport News area. I've got it narrowed down to a two-block radius."

Gibbs didn't bother listening, he just ran out the door, leaving Kate and Tony to follow. Gibbs' words were echoing in her head. _The next time we meet, Ari, will be the last time._

She hoped to God that Gibbs was right.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's the plan, boss?" Tony asked, as Gibbs stormed through the bullpen.

"We're going and finding that bastard, and stopping the attack" Gibbs retorted "What did _you _think we were going to do, Tony? Sit around and twiddle our thumbs until he shows up?"

Tony winced, as Gibbs headslapped him.

Kate, watching the exchange, could see the outline of the vest, under his shirt. She couldn't deny it relieved her somewhat that he was wearing it. Even if it meant she was under less protection than him.

XXXXXXX

They arrived at the warehouse in due time.

Kate was nervous, biting her lip as she glanced at the members of her team. But mostly Gibbs.

Always Gibbs.

He was the one, after all, who Ari wanted to kill.

Kate swallowed, looking at them again. Gibbs was barking orders.

"It's going to take hours to search these warehouses, boss" Tony whined.

Gibbs merely turned to her and demanded "Gimme the shotgun."

She handed it over willingly, used to his harsh demeanor.

He fired at a street lamp, and it made such a loud noise that Kate was tempted to cover her ears. But she didn't. She looked around. A man poked his head over the roof, looking for the source of the noise.

Gibbs fired, having noticed him first. He hit his target (_of course he did, Kate _she reminded herself _He's a sniper, you idiot_) and then turned to stare at them, his eyes steely.

"Tony, take the fire escape. Kate, with me, McGee start jamming."

Her heart skipped a beat, as she followed Gibbs and Tony down an alley. Tony went up the fire escape, and Kate and Gibbs paused a split second and exchanged a look. Then they kicked open the warehouse doors, weapons drawn.

Kate saw a Virginia State Police squad car, and they quickly took cover behind it.

She heard gunshots firing, and she immediately stood and returned fire. The firefight was fierce, but in the end, they managed to scare him off. Kate had no idea where he went, but she was intending to spend a moment catching her breath before heading to the roof.

She exchanged a look with Gibbs, who just touched her cheek gently. As he opened his mouth, they heard McGee:

"They fired the drone, boss!"

Gibbs frowned "Jam it McGee!"

"I can do this" She heard McGee mutter.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked her.

She nodded, unsure of what else to say "Come on" she stood up, surveying the warehouse, before seeing that it was empty of human presence aside from them.

"Got one down boss, no visual on anyone else."

_Is Ari up there? _

They took the stairs to the roof, and Gibbs muttered "Let's do it."

He kicked the door open, and the first thing Kate heard was a gunshot, before seeing the terrorist responsible almost knocked to the ground by one of Tony's shots. Kate fired at him too, but he ducked.

They saw one of the terrorists at the controls, and they all fired off shots, shooting both of them.

Gibbs kicked away the gun the terrorist was holding.

"Clear" Tony said, sounding mildly relieved.

_But where is Ari? _It was outweighed by slightly more pressing concerns.

"McGee! This thing is still flying!" Gibbs called.

"Okay," she heard him say, "One frequency down, two to go!"

They heard shots, echoing up around them, but Kate was struck with a sudden paralyzing fear that Tim had been shot. That was something she'd never want to see- the dead body of one of her teammates. Images danced before her eyes- Gibbs with his throat cut, Tony dying of the plague, and McGee bleeding out on the cracked pavement- _Get it together, Kate _she warned herself.

And then she nearly sobbed in relief when she heard his voice, loud and clear- "Boss, one of them shot my transmitter."

Gibbs sighed, frowning, as he started at the controls.

"You know how to fly this thing?" Tony asked, looking nervous.

"No" Gibbs replied ruefully, "But I know how to crash it." He fired a few shots at the transmitter, destroying it.

They all sighed in relief. Gibbs walked over, looking over the side of the building "McGee, you okay?"

"I've got one terrorist inside, I don't know if I got him, but he stopped shooting" was McGee's reply.

"Hold your position, we'll flush him" Gibbs said, exchanging knowing looks with Tony and Kate.

"Okay."

He checked his gun, and sighed "I'm out."

Kate was sure to check the shotgun "Me too" she muttered.

As Tony was handing Gibbs the bullets, out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw the door slowly opening.

She acted without thinking, tossing her gun to the ground.

_"Shooter_!" she yelled, throwing herself in the way of the bullet. Pain blossomed in her chest, hot and radiant, as she collapsed to the ground.

She tried to press her hands over the blood, as a new image came to her mind-

_Me, lying on the ground, bleeding to death. _

XXXXXX

Gibbs had his back turned, when he heard a voice (Kate?) scream a word that made his heart drop to his shoes- _shooter._

He turned just to see Kate- his _Katie_\- collapse to the ground in front of him. And then his heart skipped a beat, as he turned, firing at the terrorist, until he collapsed down the stairs, dead.

Gibbs ran back to Kate "Kate!" he yelled desperately. He turned her over, and his fingers were assaulted with a warm bath of blood.

He was in shock.

"Tony!" he yelled, "I need a medical team! Stat!"

"McGee!" Tony yelled "Agent down! We need a medical team!"

"Calling an ambulance now."

The horrible thought occurred to Gibbs at last- blocked out of his mind by the sound of Kate's wheezing, a lung had been punctured, and was likely collapsed- _Kate had just taken a bullet for him. _

He was trying desperately to keep pressure on the wound, when he looked at her face, where she was clearly fading fast.

"Come on, Kate, don't do this" he muttered. But when he looked up, he thought he saw something flashing in the sunlight, a ways away, on another roof.

_Oh god, _he thought _Ari._

"We got a sniper!" He called to Tony "Get down!"

Tony hit the deck, just as they heard ambulance sirens.

It wasn't going to be enough though. Blood was still flowing through his fingers, from the wound in a chest he had worshipped- a chest he had lavished attention on only last night, _God, _was it only last night?

"McGee!" he muttered, "need that ambulance team."

"Gibbs…" Kate gasped.

"Don't talk."

"_Gibbs!_" she wheezed, and he would never be able to live with himself if the last thing she ever did was stop a bullet for him.

He, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, was undeserving of this kindness.

He wouldn't let a woman he had recently taken as a lover (even loved?) sacrifice herself.

"Ambulance is here!" McGee yelled over the comm unit, and Gibbs nearly sighed in relief. His hands were still pressed to Kate's chest, her head now cradled in her lap. He could feel the blood flow slowing slightly, but not nearly enough. It was a sign of a body giving up. Her wheezing was becoming quieter.

"Damn it Katie, _stay with me_!" he yelled.

As the ambulance crew swarmed around him, all he could think was _I can't lose you too, Katie. _


	6. Chapter 6

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a patient man.

He had been pacing the waiting room at Bethesda for what felt like years, his clothes still stained with her blood, as her life hung in the balance.

She'd been taken into surgery after a panicked ambulance ride. McGee and Tony were checking out the scene, trying to find Ari.

But he'd gotten away. _Again_.

In all the panic, and the crazy moments, the moment when the paramedics had taken her from him still caused a fresh ache in his throat.

Her eyes had fluttered open, as she weakly reached for him- _stop thinking about it, _he warned himself.

He knew one thing and one thing only. He knew then that the sniper was not for him.

Not a chance.

_Kate _his mind called out to her somewhere, where doctors fought to keep her alive.

And in the moment, he allowed to think. Questions bombarded him. _Has her family been contacted?_

_How bad are her injuries?_

And the most worrisome question: _Will you die, Kate?_

His worries were not assuaged by anything, least of all the paramedic's statement as they had loaded her into the ambulance: _"You probably saved her life, sir."_

Least he could do. Considering.

He forced himself to sit down, his hands shaking slightly. And here he had always been a steady, rock-solid Marine. It was part of his personality. It was why he could get the job done. No emotions, no one gets hurt.

It was why rule 12 existed, after all.

He stood, as McGee and Tony walked into the previously empty waiting room that he'd holed up in, waiting for news and wanting to be alone "What's going on?"

"We looked, no Ari. He got away" Tim sounded resigned.

"And they're looking for him?"

"Oh yeah" Tony shifted nervously, looking run down "How's Kate?"

"I dunno" was his short reply. He checked his watch. It had been four hours. Four hours of waiting. It was a good thing his hair was already gray, because this ordeal would have turned any hair that wasn't.

"You don't?" Tim asked.

"No."

"Has anyone called Abby?" Tony asked.

His question was answered by a frantic blur who ran in "Where's Kate? I heard she got shot! Is she okay? Gibbs, what's going on?"

Gibbs stared at her for a second, as Tim and Tony turned to look at her.

She was too busy staring at Gibbs for reassurance. He had to remind himself in that moment that he was not the only one who loved Caitlin Todd, in any capacity.

"She's in surgery, Abs" he replied quietly.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Abby asked, nervously.

"I don't know" he sighed, before turning once again to the door. A doctor, dressed in blood-stained scrubs covered by a lab coat, walked in.

"I'm Dr. Knight. Are you the people who came in with Miss Todd?"

"Special Agent Todd" Gibbs said, the one little thing irritating him.

"And you are…?" the doctor asked.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. I'm her boss" he explained.

"And the rest of you?" he asked, turning to the other three.

"Special Agents McGee and DiNozzo, NCIS," Tony said calming, "And Abby Sciuto, forensic scientist. We're Kate's coworkers."

"Do you have news for us?" Abby asked panicked.

"Special Agent Todd just came out of surgery. We were able to repair her collapsed lung, and remove the bullet. She's been moved to the ICU" he said quietly.

"Can we see her?" Gibbs asked, blurting it out before he'd had a chance to think about it.

"She is currently unconscious, and on a ventilator to assist her breathing, but if you want to see her…" the doctor trailed off.

"What room is she in?"

"203, last room on the right in the ICU. You're free to go see her" the doc explained.

Gibbs didn't wait, he headed for her room, and without a word, Tony, Abby and McGee followed him. And then he stopped right outside her room. He looked at her, and his heart dropped though his feet, making him feel out of breathe. She had tubes coming out of her mouth, and an IV line in her hand. Her chest was most likely bandaged underneath the paper thin hospital gown. Her hair was thick and dark, falling on the hospital pillow the same way her hair was spread across his pillow only last night.

"Boss?" Tony asked, as though sensing Gibbs' hesitation. _Don't let them see you weak _he told himself, before taking a deep breath, and stepping through the door.

Her eyes were closed, and he knew she was somewhere far away, somewhere he had not been able to follow. And that shattered him- in more ways than one.

"Oh no" Abby whimpered from behind him, as the other three filed into the room.

The three of them were staring at her, and he could see the worry and fear reflected in the eyes of each. "Tony, McGee, I want you to take shifts, guarding her room."

"You think Ari will try something?" Tony asked, looking up. Alarm showed in his eyes.

"Yeah, Tony. Did you two get evidence at the scene?"

"Yeah" Tony said "We brought it to Abby, before we came."

He turned to Abby, "Abs, we need to find him."

She nodded, her eyes still glued to Kate. She reached forward, and touched Kate's hand, before fleeing the room.

"What'll you do, boss?" Tim asked, hesitantly.

Gibbs looked down at his bloody clothing. He should really change out of his bloody shirt and blood-stained pants… but the idea of going home to a house that would surely reflect Kate's presence was a heart-wrenching thought that he didn't want to face.

"I'm… gonna stay. In case she wakes up."

"Okay." Tim walked out, pulling up a chair and sitting just outside the room. Tony followed, after touching Kate's hand too, almost reverently.

Gibbs sat in the uncomfortable chair next to the hospital bed, and looked at the hospital gown. It covered a lot of territory, but he could still see bandages peeking out from under it. A punctured lung.

But one could recover from a punctured lung. She'd live… unless…

_Don't go down that path, _he warned himself, _you're messing with your mind._

"I'm sorry Kate" he whispered, "so sorry I didn't do more."

_You didn't do enough, you're a bastard, she'll realize it sooner or later._

_The rest did._

_They didn't see the man hurting, trying to forget the love of his life. _

_But she did. She saw Jethro. Not Gibbs._

He took her hand in his. He didn't want to leave her side, in case she woke up. He wanted to be there, wanted to be the first thing she'd see. He wanted to thank her, allow her to grace him with a smile, and a "you're welcome".

As he gently stroked his thumb over her hand, he decided: He was done lying to himself. Too many times he had almost spoken up.

_The emergency blow, the time they'd gone undercover as Marines, Gitmo, when he'd first met her, when he'd had her test out the D-ring, when he'd seen the sketchpad, when he'd made love to her, and overall when she smiled at him a certain way, brought him coffee, and didn't shoot him on the spot for testing her further by making impossible demands._

The words had always been on the tip of his tongue, ready to fall from his lips, and he'd never spoken up. And now, he'd have to answer to that.

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead, before whispering in her ear "Come back to me, Katie. I got somethin' important to tell ya."

_I love you. _

XXXXX

_"Kate!" he yelled rushing over to her. She was lying down. He rolled her over as she groaned, but he felt no blood beneath his shaking fingertips, as he unzipped her jacket._

_He sighed in relief at the sight of the bullet imbedded in the vest she was wearing. He looked at her in amazement. She'd given him her vest, but somehow she still had one on._

_"You okay?" Tony asked from beside him._

_"Owww…" she moaned, "I just got shot at point-blank range, DiNozzo. What do YOU think?"_

_"That you're not going to Pilates class tomorrow?"_

_"Ohhh… Ahhhh," she groaned, as Gibbs helped her up. _

_"Protection detail's over, Kate," he said warningly. His heart couldn't stand another shock. _

_"You did good, Kate," DiNozzo said appraisingly from beside him. _

_"For once, DiNozzo is right" he sighed._

_Kate laughed, "Wow, I thought I'd died before I ever heard a compliment-," And like in slow motion, the back of her head exploded, spraying Tony with blood. _

_Gibbs watched in horror as Kate, _his _Katie, collapsed to the ground, already dead._

_And he instantly knew who was responsible._

Gibbs jolted awake, his heart pounding. It had been a long time since the nightmares about Kate dying had surfaced. Dreams of walking into autopsy and finding a body bag that contained none other than his younger subordinate.

He looked over at the hospital bed, stretching. Checking his watch, he realized it had only been a half hour since he had sat down by her bed.

"Boss?" he looked up, blinking to see Tim. Holding a coffee, and looking hesitant.

"Hey McGee" he stood up, walking over "What's goin' on?"

"Tony went back to the lab, to see Abby, and discuss the evidence" he said cautiously.

"Anything new on Ari?"

"No, boss. But uh- the Director wanted to see you."

_Damn it, _he didn't want to see Morrow. "About what, McGee?"

"I don't know, but it sounded important. So you should probably…"

He glared at McGee who faltered under his steely gaze. "Keep an eye on Kate." He warned.

And then he headed in to do battle while his Katie faced her own battle. And he didn't dare act on any of his feelings in front of his subordinate.

XXXXX

He walked down the ramp into MTAC, and approached the Director.

He wasn't sure whether he ought to thank the man, or attack him.

It was the Director who had ordered Kate to protect him in the first place. And now it may just cost Katie her life.

"How is Agent Todd?" he asked.

"Recovering. She still hasn't woken up," Gibbs said, looking at him.

The Director cleared his throat, "Jethro, every agency has vowed to help in any way they can."

"There was a sniper. On a rooftop. It's my belief he intended to harm one of us. And I know for sure- it's Ari."

"Is that your gut talking Jethro, or your vendetta against Ari Haswari?"

"Director, Ari Haswari has tried on multiple occasions to kill Agent Todd. I believe that if she had not jumped in the way today, he would have succeeded."

"There is nothing I can do about Ari Haswari, and before you continue to make noise about it, I should inform you it is no longer my problem."

"What?" Gibbs was slightly confused.

"I've been offered a position at Homeland. I've resigned from NCIS."

"Sir, is this a job offer?"

"I would not quite like to destroy NCIS by leaving, so no." And then he turned, "He's your problem now, Director Shepard."

_Oh shit, _he thought, before turning to stare at the familiar redhead.

"Hello Jethro."

"I'd say you hadn't changed-,"

"I would say the same but we'd both be lying. How is Agent Todd?" He frowned at this woman, once so familiar to him, but now a stranger. And now… his boss?

His boss. His former lover inquiring about his current lover… What?

"…. She's fine… Director."


End file.
